You have no fear of the underdog, that's why you will not survive

Just let it be Winter Break already. Seriously.
Three down, three to go...

So after school, my family and I celebrated my cousin's birthday at the Colombia restaurant. The restaurant was founded in 1905 and they serve really delicious authentic Cuban food from old recipes.



And then afterwards I went and saw *drum roll* AVATAR!

Oh. My. Goodness. Where do I begin?

Ok, Avatar was, simply put, awe-inspiring. Let me elaborate:
Every frame was such a delight to watch. The visual imagery was beautiful and vibrant; the colors, the bio-luminescent plants, Pandora, the Na'vi, it was all breathtaking to watch.

I was simply blown away by the special effects. I was so impressed by the computer generated characters that I forgot that they weren't real or tangible in any way. Their expressions, their fluid movements, their skin texture was amazingly realistic.



The world that the director created was so engaging and inspiring, you couldn't help but immerse yourself in it. The creativity behind the creation of an entirely new ecosystem filled with alien fauna and flora was remarkable.



I highly recommend watching this movie in 3D. This was my first 3D movie (not counting the time I saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience at Disney World in the 90's). I felt like I was actually in the movie, especially during the breathtaking flying scenes which actually made my stomach drop.

The movie was so exciting to watch and was able to keep my complete attention from start to finish; if definitely didn't feel like a three hour movie!
I cried like a baby during the emotional scenes and I was sick to my stomach watching the cruelty and injustice inflicted on the Na'vi people by the humans. At one point in the movie I seriously clenched my fist and felt like shouting, "You monsters!" at the movie screen. This movie really made me hate my species, I want to live on Pandora with the Na'vi!

However, Avatar was by no means perfect. It was a bit cliche (too much like Dances with Wolves) with a familiar "hero's journey" plot and stereotypical characters. I also didn't entirely like how the Na'vi were depicted. It would have been more impactful if they were intellectually equal with humans but were wise enough to chose their lifestyle of coexisting with their planet, not just because they were primitive.

I understand that the movie was a commentary on the evils of imperialism and was symbolic of the way that the Europeans treated the Native Americans and Africans, but I felt like white people were attacked in this movie. In the movie, the U.S. army consisted of an overwhelming majority of white guys; there were virtually no women or minorities represented. To me, the movie should have focused more on humans as a species attacking the Na'vi to highlight the pitfalls of human nature. Instead, the movie focused on only white men attacking the Na'vi.

Despite all of this, Avatar definitely lived up to the hype. Overall, it was an incredible experience and I have officially fallen in love with this movie.
As the Na'vi say:
Eywa ngahu!
(Good-bye, Eywa be with you!)